The Recording Industry has made a habit of believing its own fantasy about the cost of piracy to its own operation.However this is fast proving to be a liability in court. In the case of its damages claim against Limewire, Recording Industry lawyers showed how out of touch they were with reality when they claimed that the outfit owed them $400 Billion on the low end, and at the high end $75 trillion dollars.

Let us put this claim into perspective. The high end of the scale is more than the entire GDP of the whole world. So somehow the entertainment industry would have netted all the money ever made in the world if it had not been for P2P piracy. At the lower end of the scale the industry claims that it would have earned more than the oil rich Gulf nations did in a year.

For the first time, it appears that a Judge deemed these potential damages “absurd” and the plaintiff’s approach “untenable”. It is a pity he didn't lock them up for being so stupid and wasting his time.

Filesharing outfit LimeWire has settled the copyright infringement case brought against them by the National Music Publishers Association.

Music publishers, including Sony and Warner Music, sued LimeWire for copyright infringement last June. All claims brought against LimeWire and Chief Executive Mark Gorton were dismissed following a filing in a New York federal court.

It is not clear how much Limewire had to pay to make the case go away. Certainly it is not saying anything about it. Each side will pay its own costs incurred including attorneys' fees. The music publisher's have released a statement that they are pleased this litigation is over and the final result is “a good result for all involved."

It is not the end of Limewire's legal woes. They are still fighting a case brought against them by 13 record companies. This is due on May 2 and might actually finish the outfit.

The P2P site LimeWire is not sitting on its hands waiting for the RIAA laywers to finally finish it off.

While the outfit awaits its trial to determine how much it owes the recording industry, the company is trying to get the inside scoop on how much the RIAA really makes off the work it represents. According to Hollywood Reporter the company has been asking people to hand over their internal records and documentation related to music industry deals.

LimeWire, however, is doing what it can to fight back. US Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman to order the record companies to choose 100 works that are representative of LimeWire's infringement and hand over info on the related costs. But LimeWire wants more information on royalty payments, accounting data, and internal communications.

The Reporter thinks it is about to drag in Amazon and Apple into the mess. What it might show is how much money the RIAA and its ilk really make on online music deals.